MAMARONECK – With temperatures dropping into the 40s on Wednesday afternoon, it would have been reasonable to expect a drop-off in performance from the ace pitchers for league rivals White Plains and Mamaroneck.

But that’s not how it went down.

In one of the more compelling games in the early portion of the 2018 baseball season, White Plains lefty Mike Attonito and Mamaroneck righty Sachin Nambiar matched each other pitch for pitch for nearly seven innings.

“It was definitely cold,” Attonito said. “After I came out, I started to get the shivers. But I just played through it — and so did the team. It all went well. You get the adrenaline going, then it’s all natural.”

White Plains led throughout, but after an error allowed Mamaroneck to tie the score in the sixth, the game was extended into extra innings.

With the sun setting and darkness creeping in, an experienced White Plains team never wavered. It scored two runs in the top of the ninth and held on for a memorable 3-2 win.

“In that last inning, we were thinking, ‘We have to score,’ ” senior catcher Matt Dorchak said. “We’ll worry about it getting too dark later on, but we came here to play.”

Dorchak capitalized by following a first-inning error from Mamaroneck with a two-out RBI single, which increased his Section 1-leading RBI total to 17. In the bottom half of the inning, Attonito allowed two base-runners to reach safely but wiggled out of the jam.

From that point forward, the dueling pitchers locked in.

“Both guys were gutsy in tough conditions and deserved a win,” White Plains coach Marcel Galligani said. “(Attonito) is such a competitor; the epitome of a warrior on the field. He’s never phased by anything. When something is not working, he adapts and grinds through.”

Attonito could have left with his fourth win of the year if not for an error in the sixth inning that allowed the tying run to score. But White Plains kept its composure, with Attonito hitting a sac fly in the ninth to put his team back on top before Anthony Burgio added an RBI single.

“We just needed to understand that we can swing the bats,” Attonito said. “It’s very easy just to lay down and stop playing, but we definitely didn’t. That’s what I love about this team.”

The win helped White Plains improve to 5-2 after coming one win away from a Class AA title last year. The Tigers lost to Arlington in extra innings in the championship game and return many of their key players, which they’re hoping will lead to big things in 2018.

“The experience will definitely help us,” Attonito said. “The younger kids have to follow us and they have to understand that the seniors on this team, including me, we all want to get back there again and actually win. We can definitely do that this year, so we’re hoping for the best.”

Pitching by the numbers

Attonito went 6 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run, surrendering five hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts. The Sacred Heart-bound senior was pulled from the game after reaching 105 pitches, 69 of which were strikes.

Nambiar matched Attonito's 6 2/3 innings without any earned runs, giving up four hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. The Amherst-bound senior was also lifted after hitting the 105-pitch limit, throwing 67 for strikes.

"Both starters battled through the whole game and did well," Dorchak said. "It’s great to see two guys like that — two aces — just come out and put it all on the line. "